Ted Season 1 Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Max Burkholder, Alanna Ubach, Scott Grimes, and Giorgia Whigham.
Creator: Seth MacFarlane
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Streaming On: Peacock
Language: English
Runtime: 7 Episodes, Around 50 minutes each
Ted Season 1 Review: What’s It About:
Seth MacFarlane is one of the most influential and powerful figures on television. His hit show Family Guy has managed to have incredible staying power, and it has launched many spin-off series that have found success or cult status in one way or another. And so comes Ted, a new series on Peacock that follows the exploits of Ted and Johnny, life-long friends who are always there for each other no matter what. The only weird thing is that Ted is a talking teddy bear with severe issues and no filter in his mouth.
Ted Season 1 Review: Script Analysis:
Ted was a very successful film and proved that Seth MacFarlane’s vein of comedy could work in the feature film space. The film would later have a less successful filter, but just like many other Seth MacFarlane characters, Ted had come to stay, and so it makes sense for Seth MacFarlane to bring back the lovely talking bear in the shape of a TV series on a streaming service, and the result is a show that feels both familiar but hilarious at the same time, and that is all that matters.
Comedy is entirely subjective and could be one of the most complex narrative genres to work on because what is funny for some people might not be funny for others. In this case, Seth MacFarlane’s comedy is targeted to a particular audience that is not easily offended. Seth MacFarlane has become a pillar of the non-politically correct comedy in today’s entertainment environment, and he has received both support and criticism for it, which is normal, but beware, Ted is vulgar and offensive when it wants to be.
Outside the vulgar nature of the comedy displayed on the show, the series follows a very classic structure, one seen in many sitcoms, including many of Seth MacFarlane’s own shows, and so we follow Ted and Johnny, our two main characters through a series of misadventures as they deal with growing up and become better people. At the same time, we also focus on the duo’s family, which includes Johnny’s mother, father, and cousin. This family dynamic is the core of the series, becoming the origin of many of the series’ conflicts.
As is the nature of these shows, the series presents a new situation in each episode, and while there are some overarching plots, like Johnny getting a girlfriend, each episode is a standalone affair. This structure is both a strength, as audiences can jump on any episode and have fun, but also a weakness because there is really no reason to keep watching the show or binge it if it comes to having the narrative make you want to see more of these characters.
Ted Season 1 Review: Star Performance:
All human characters are fine and dandy, but at the start of the show is Ted himself, played by Seth MacFarlane’s voice. Seth MacFarlane’s has become almost as famous as his shows, and it is just hilarious, even if he cannot change it much from character to character. Seth MacFarlane’s performance as Ted feels and sounds excellent, and at this point, Seth MacFarlane has perfected the delivery of his lines, making every dialogue scene with Ted a standout event that will probably make you laugh hard.
Meanwhile, the rest of the cast does a solid job, although Max Buckholder, who plays young Johnny, feels a bit of a miscast, as it is hard to imagine him becoming Mark Wahlberg in the feature films. It feels like a different person, and his acting and delivery feel subpar to the rest of the cast. Giorgia Whigham fairs a lot better, following the steps of his incredible father. Giorgia has charisma and presence, and he steals basically every scene she is in; we hope to see more from her in the future.
Ted Season 1 Review: Direction & Music:
Seth MacFarlane puts on his leadership cap on this project, serving as creator, writer, director, and voice actor. The result is a live-action TV series that follows the tone of many of his shows, and it feels like it is a perfect translation of Family Guy to live-action, which is a great accomplishment. However, it would be naive to say that some of the shots and the cinematic language of the piece don’t feel flat in many episodes. It is hard to ask more, and there are probably many budgetary and time constraints, but when it comes to the visual language of the show, it could have been better.
Seth MacFarlane is relatively successful at matching Ted into the live-action scenario, and while the visual effects on the talking bear are better than the quality of the effects in the feature films, they are all right. Ted sometimes feels like a digital drawing copy-pasted into a live-action scenario, but hey! It is a talking teddy bear; there is already an uncanny valley feeling to the entire thing, so many audience members will be able to pass around it.
Ted Season 1 Review: Last Words:
The series doesn’t feel like something new and fresh, but if you are a fan of Seth MacFarlane’s brand and just want more of it, then it would be the perfect show for you. The series does an excellent job translating the family dynamic from the other MacFarlane shows into a live-action setting. While not the best around, the visual effects on Ted are solid enough to maintain the illusion that he is a talking teddy bear living with this family, while the humor won’t gain new fans to the franchise but will keep those who already like it happy.
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The post Ted Season 1 Review: Vulgar Talking Teddy Bear Succeeds At Moving From Big Screen To Small Screen appeared first on Koimoi.
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